Poached Pluots with Riesling, Caramel Sauce and Whipped Cream

Adjust the sweetener of poaching liquid to the the sweetness or tartness of your pluots or plums. Agave nectar gives a perfect flavor compliment to the pluots and riesling but sometimes is hard to find. Feel free to substitute honey or sugar to sweeten the poaching liquid.

Pluots:
2 lbs pluots, split in half and pitted (910 g)
2 cup semi-dry Riesling (470 mL)
1 cup sugar (200 g)
½ orange, zest strips
sprig thyme

Caramel Sauce:
1 cup sugar (200 g)

Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream (235 mL)
1 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar (10 g)
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract (3 mL)

Poach the Pluots:
Combine Riesling, sweetener (agave nectar, honey, or sugar) in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add pluots in a single layer (poach in batches according to how many your saucepan can hold) and poach until your desired softness (usually about 5-10 min.) Set aside to cool. Strain & reserve poaching liquid.

Make the Caramel Sauce:
Add ½ cup of reserved poaching liquid and 1 cup of sugar to a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until it just starts to smoke and develops that perfect caramel scent (normally you can tell by the color but the poaching liquid darkens the sauce and your nose is your best judge of doneness.) Add another ½ cup of reserved poaching liquid to the caramel to thin it out (be very careful. It will hiss and piss and is a bit volatile. Hardly any burn is worse than a caramel burn.) Stir to combine. Strain any sugar chunks out of sauce and reserve.

Make the Whipped Cream:
Combine heavy cream, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl and whip to soft peaks. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve plouts.

To serve, plate a couple pluots per serving on small plates. Pour caramel sauce over pluots and top with a nice dollop of whipped cream.

Makes 4-6 servings.